I'm more impressed by protesters who aren't so unsure of their beliefs that they have to hide their identity.

You mean like those anon authors of The Federalist Papers?

Yeah, anonymously authoring written appeals to ratify a constitution are exactly the same as wearing a mask in a society that allows peaceful demonstration in order to protect your identity when you decide to be a destructive asshole. TOTALLY, DUDE.

This kids have about as much in common with Alexander Hamilton et al. as a 12 year old playing Call of Duty has with a US Marine.

The people and forces you're protesting don't give a shiat if you're chanting slogans and standing in the streets. Not if there's 40 of you, and not if there's 400 of you. `Not even if there is 4,000 or 40,000 of you. They are safe, warm, well-fed, and looking down at you from their ivory towers. As far as they're concerned, you can stand out there all week. It makes no difference to them. They're not the ones enduring cold, hunger and boredom whilst spewing trite slogans in unison.

Sure, it's the principle of the matter. You have to say what you believe. Just don't expect that it will make a difference. Don't expect that the people in control will suddenly say, "Oh, my! We've been wrong all along! We'll give up our profitable endeavor and let the common people have what they want! Chauncey, bring the limo around. I'm going to go amongst them and hand out jobs and money to make up for their time spent convincing me of my wrongdoing in this matter."

No. They will laugh at you and eat another piece of imported cheese that costs more than you make in a week.

Should you just roll over and take it, then? No, I'm not saying that at all. All I'm saying is that standing around shouting slogans and holding signs really doesn't work anymore. Not with the kind of people who are in control, and not with the kind of control they have over everything. They don't care. They don't HAVE TO care. When you're standing around protesting, you're no danger to them. Hell, you're more of a danger to yourselves than you are to them!

Now, the minute the protesters decide to stop shouting slogans-- as a whole-- and instead start pulling down the ivory towers? That's when change occurs.

I'm not saying I approve of the violent path. I don't. I'm not stupid enough to look at all I have and then complain about it. I have shelter, food, decent air, water, electronic gadgets, and the freedom to go where I want and do what I want (within reason). Why would I want to disrupt that? No, I'm not happy all the time, nor am I particularly pleased with working conditions, but I also realize I'm living like a king compared to some people in the world. I think it's seriously selfish and snotty to complain about what we have when so many have nothing.

But that's neither here nor there.

The point is that if you want the powers-that-be to enact change, you won't accomplish it by chanting slogans at them, because these are the kind of people who would probably use your remains as firewood before they'd deign to speak to you, give you what you want, or even acknowledge your existence. They're scum, but they're scum with all the money, all the power, and all the control. Unless you're willing to make your challenge to that control more visceral, they're going to remain in control and do whatever the hell they want, and nothing-- not your protests, not your votes, not your good intentions and happy sunshine unicorn farts-- is going to make a dent in the world they created for themselves.

You outnumber them, but they own it all and you're just borrowing it.

Unless you're willing rough it and give up electricity, safety, access to food and medical care, shelter, modern entertainment and other things they control in order to make you lazy, stupid, and complacent, you're not really going to have an effect on them.

The irony of Anonymous is that they don't understand that to the rich, powerful people in control of the world, ALL OF US are anonymous. Nameless. Not worth assigning individuality to.

We're all anonymous nobodies to them, and until they feel that they are threatened (and again, I don't encourage it) they won't see us any anything else. We're numbers. We're dollar signs. We're marks in a ledger. We're firewood.

Mask or no mask, you don't matter to them, and nothing you say will have any effect on them. Stay home and bake cookies for your loved ones, and enjoy having heat, electricity, and security.

Good to see a Guy Fawkes article on November 5. Bad to find out the Stylized Mask is owned by TimeWarner™. Strange that Guy Fawkes is no longer the Papist Terrorist that shamed all Catholics where ever the union jack flies prompting the name change for Bonfire Night (not to be confused with Texas A&M Darwin Night). Sad that very few places in the US like to burn figures in effigy and have fireworks on a crisp (85°F) night. Good that at least a few countries old enough have a celebration of a terrorist act that didn't accomplish its purpose.

Smashing windows and setting things on fire is not protesting. That's rioting. Protesting is where you chant through bullhorns. Until the hoodied douchebag set get clear on this concept, you're going to see more intrusive laws invading everyone's privacy.

/No Guy Fawkes mask is really complete without a nightstick smacking into it.

Shadyman:Odd, as the Canadian Criminal Code already states that anyone wearing a mask to commit a crime is already eligible for More Trouble (tm). So... LOLWUT?

Pff, everyone knows the solution isn't to enforce existing laws correctly. It's to enact new, special laws! Anyone who's ever driven their pitbull somewhere while talking on a cell phone knows all about this sort of thing.